


Fool Me Twice

by Ashii Black (ashiiblack)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Body Horror, Body Modification, Gen, Horror, Magic Mirrors, Self-Mutilation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-11
Updated: 2013-12-11
Packaged: 2018-01-04 08:43:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1078932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashiiblack/pseuds/Ashii%20Black
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ginny never was good at listening to her father.  Perhaps she should heed his most important piece of advice a little better.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fool Me Twice

Let me start by saying that I love my new job. When I worked at the Prophet, I often found myself bored and unsure what to do with all of my spare time.

I can't stand the house-witches, with their book clubs and Gobstones nights. Despite having Molly Weasley as my mother, I have very little interest in cleaning the house all day. Harry and I have a house elf for that – much to Hermione's outrage.

At first, I spent my spare time shopping. My shopping sprees were short-lived after Harry saw our monthly billing statement.

Then, I tried my hand at taking classes at the local Muggle community center. Pottery had gone terribly, as had digital photography. I had to Obliviate half the class after they saw me first explode my wheel and then curse the dratted Nikon so it would never take another picture.

Finally, Harry found me a position through the Ministry. We clear out the estates of deceased witches and wizards. We mostly box up the inventory, but we are allowed to take non-dangerous items home. It's a slightly disturbing job, but I can usually find something interesting to send to Hogwarts for my kids to enjoy.

We've been working on the Malichi Manor in Dorset for several days. We found a ton of artifacts riddled with dark magic. When that happens, my boss, Violet, brings in Cursebreakers as consultants. They've been searching through this house rather thoroughly, trying to find the dangerous items before someone gets hurt.

I am sent to box up the attic. It doesn't look much different than other attics of old, rich manors. It extends to nearly the entire length of the house and is filled with boxes and dust-covered furniture.

After listing all of the clothing in the first few boxes, I hear a hissing sound across the room. I whipp out my wand and step forward. After my experiences cleaning out Grimmauld Place, I know to always have my wand at the ready.

The hissing sound continues. I follow the noise, which is coming from the east wing of the attic near a set of rafters.

The sound stops, and I am left facing a large sheet covering a piece of furniture. I tug the sheet off, nervous that whatever is hissing is hiding beneath the sheet. It slides off without any creatures emerging.

I can't help myself. I step in front of the mirror. They had told me not to use any of the items. They told me that they weren't sure what some of these artifacts would do. The Cursebreakers we had brought on this project told us there were multiple ghosts residing in this old manor. They weren't like the friendly or easy-to-ignore Hogwarts ghosts. Instead, they were vengeful spirits who wanted each and every one of us out.

The first thing I notice is that my reflection doesn't look like what I expect. I appear younger and thinner; I look like I am in even better shape than when I played Quidditch.

Reflection-Ginny smiles and reaches out to me. Without thinking, I touch the smooth surface. She taps twice on the glass. I can feel the pane of glass bounce against my fingers.

At this, nearly every fiber in my body urges me to flee. Yet, I am glued to the spot where I stand. I have too many questions to ask. "Who are you?"

She taps once, and shakes her head. She taps twice and nods. Then she motions to me.

"You want me to ask yes or no questions?"

Two taps.

"You can't talk?"

Two taps.

"Are you me?"

One tap.

"Are you a mirror?"

Two taps.

"Is there a reason you look like me?"

Two taps.

"Can I look like this again?"

Two taps.

I fight the words coming out of my mouth. They end up sounding garbled. "Can you – show me?"

I close my eyes in resolution. Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain.

My father's words resonate in my mind. As much as I try to heed his warnings, I can't. If I can look like that again, it doesn't hurt to ask. It's just a mirror. It can't hurt me.

Mirror-Ginny holds up a knife and gently places it inside her pocket. As she does this, I feel a weight in my own pocket. I pull out a knife and stare at it in shock.

It's a silver dagger with a shiny ruby at the base of the handle. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Reflection-Ginny morphs into a fat, old woman. I wince at the image, which continues to mimic my movements and facial expressions. Is this what everyone sees when they look at me?

My reflection turns back into the more attractive version of me. She holds the dagger in her left hand and pulls out her wand – my wand – and casts a spell. Judging by her motions and wand movement, she is casting a Stasis Charm.

I point at my body and cast the spell. I am enamored by the way Mirror-Ginny moves. It is almost as if she is flowing. I can't help but trust her. She is, after all, my reflection.

"Will this hurt?"

She taps twice on the mirror, holds up two fingers and then presses them together.  
"Just a little bit." I repeat her hand motion with my own fingers.

I watch as she points to her left side, and slowly cuts into her skin. No blood comes out. She smiles at me and nods with an encouraging expression. The dagger warms in my hands. I can feel its magic vibrating in my hand.

This is wrong. I know it's wrong. It's a shortcut; not a real way of getting what I want. Diet, exercise, and taking care of myself are the best ways to lose weight.

Yet, I've been feeling like a disgusting pig for months. Ever since Lily left for Hogwarts, I haven't had the confidence I had before. Perhaps if I looked better, I could recapture my husband's attention.

Harry has been distant. He might be having an affair with someone at work.

A tapping on the reflection startles me out of my thoughts. Mirror-Ginny looks impatient.

"Sorry, I've just never cut into my body before."

She shrugs, as if this were a conversation she has on a regular basis.

I take in a deep breath and press the dagger against my left side. The Stasis Charm helps with the pain; all I can feel is a tingle along the incision mark. I am surprised to see that unlike Mirror-Ginny, blood dribbles down my leg.

Mirror-Ginny taps again to recapture my attention. She traces the dagger along her stomach, just above her hip bones and cuts. I follow her motions. Soon, we are both pulling a flap of skin out and away from our bodies.

She mouths a word over and over at me. "Look."

I stare at her in the mirror. A thick layer of muscles lies on the surface of her innards. She tugs the skin farther out and silently laughs. I laugh along with her. This is easy.

"Now what?" I have no clue what I'm supposed to do.

She reaches in side of the skin flap and pulls out her intestines. They dangle like worms in her hands as she motions to me.

I take in a nervous breath, and reach inside myself. I have to push past my abdominal muscles, but finally feel something slimy. I wrap my fingers around them and pull. I note to myself that there still isn't any pain.

As I stare at my insides slowly rolling out of my stomach, I can't help but feel relief. I am safe with Mirror-Ginny. She is helping me.

She wraps her intestines around her neck like a scarf and prances inside the mirror like she is royalty. I chuckle and follow suit. My intestines feel strange around my neck, and my vision goes blurry.

I think back to a party I went to with Harry. He was so cold and distant as we made our way around the room to greet the benefactors for his latest charity. His face brightened just once.

With Malfoy.

Did I drive my husband gay?

A sharp pounding noise snaps me out of my thoughts. Mirror-Ginny looks at me with a confused expression, looking foolish with her innards around her neck.

"I want to look like you." The sense of urgency hits me quickly. I need to look better. I need to be a better wife to Harry.

Mirror-Ginny reaches out, and places her palm flat against the mirror. I do the same. I can feel the warmth of her hand against the mirror. I slide my hand down and stare at the streaks of blood across the width of the mirror from my hand. I've lost a lot of blood.

She raises her dagger again and cuts open her dress. It falls to the floor and stands in front of me, naked. I remove my clothes and stare at the differences between us. She looks so beautiful and young, with perky breasts and muscles rippling across her body. I am filled with longing to look like her. She is perfect. I cannot wait until I fix my body.

"What's next?"

Mirror Ginny chuckles and raises the dagger to her face. She pulls her face back with her free hand, and slices along the outside. I follow her motions, feeling the blood rush down my nose. The cuts are reassuring. The feel of the dagger along my hairline convinces me again, that I am doing the right thing by following Mirror-Ginny.

Once I've made a full circle around my face, I look up to her to see what I need to do next. She wraps her fingers around the top of her face, under the open flap of skin, and peels it off.

I've never seen a face without its skin. I'm fascinated by the blood vessels and the muscles that flex as she smiles at me. Without a second thought, I pull the skin off my own face.

For some reason, it is harder to talk. "Do I need to shrink my face? That way, there will be fewer wrinkles."

My reflection shakes her head and the intestines still wrapped around her neck rock back and forth.

"What do I need to do?"

She leans forward into the mirror. I mimic her motions, pressing my body against the glass. She grins and cocks back her arm.

Whatever spell she has on me is suddenly lifted. I realize what is happening, that I just cut open my body and cut off my face. Whoever she is, she has tricked me.

Unfortunately, in that split second of realization, my mirror reflection stabs her dagger straight through the mirror and into the open wound in my stomach.

I stagger backward and stare down at the dagger that mirrors the one in my own hand. My head jerks upward as I realize that mirror-Ginny is crawling out of the mirror.

She is no longer my mirror reflection. She is a twisted, purple creature with teeth that would make a vampire cringe. Whatever it is roars at me and charges.

My Quidditch instincts kick in. I tumble out of the way and watch as the thing crashes into one of the towering boxes in the attic.

I feel the Stasis Charm beginning to fade. My vision blurs in and out as my heart pounds desperately. My wand is on the other side of the mirror. I know I need to do something to fix myself if I want to survive this unfortunate lapse of judgment.

The creature roars again as I run to retrieve my wand. It tackles me and pins me down.

"NO!" I fight it, but nearly vomit from the smell emitting out of its mouth. "Let go!"

They say that your life flashes before you when you die. This isn't the case. All I can think of is that I can see my wand, and I just need to get a little closer to save myself.

Yet, giving up seems so much easier. I know that the Stasis Charm has completely warn off and the pain from all of the incisions I've made is taking hold. Agony I have never felt is setting in, and the call from the darkness is far more appetizing than fighting a creature that has already defeated me.

I watch as the creature sticks its face inside of the cut in my stomach, and opens it up. It digs deep, and crawls inside. Then, all I see is blackness.

My next gasp of air surprises me. Didn't I die? I'm surrounded by white. I look around, terrified. Harry mentioned a train station when he told me his experience when Voldemort tried to kill him. There are no trains around, though.

My back hits something solid. I spin around.

Glass.

I tap on the glass.

I'm in a mirror.

I'm in the mirror.

Suddenly, I hear voices. "This attic is filled with dark items. I recommend we burn it all."

My voice.

The creature is inside my body.

"I agree, Gin. We can't have anything evil get out of here."

My boss agrees with it. My boss is going to burn me alive.

Perhaps if the mirror survives the fire, I can find someone who can help me.

Or someone else's body to use.

END


End file.
